Clause 30. — (Agricultural lands and heritages.)

Part of Orders of the Day — Local Government (Scotland) Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 20 February 1929.

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Photo of Mr Andrew MacLaren Mr Andrew MacLaren , Stoke-on-Trent Burslem

—and he told me quite frankly that during current leases he would not stand to gain much, but he said that in the drawing-up of new leases he was keeping his eye on the fact that there would be less rates to pay. The Lord Advocate tells us that the opposite will be the case by virtue of the fact that a landowner will have less rates to pay, and that he will say to his tenants: "Having less rates to pay, I am going to make less extortionate demands upon you for rent." It would do something to convert the opposition to an admiration of landowners if the Government will produce one landowner in England or Scotland who, having received an advantage in rate relief from the Government, will go round to his tenants and say: "Is there any tenant who wants to take advantage of the relief; I will hand it over to you?" Knowing Scottish landowners as I do, they are the last type of landowner on this earth to give away any advantage that they receive from rate relief; and my experience is pretty similar amongst English landowners.

There seems to be a strong feeling on the benches opposite that we have gone somewhat wide of the mark in order to attack landowners. Frankly, I think that there is much time wasted on both side of the House in denouncing individuals instead of trying to attack the system and improve it. I have been insistent in demanding that the rate pressure should be taken off agriculture and industry in order to help them. What we complain of is that, instead of the relief being given to industry, whether it is agriculture or industry, the Bill is so drawn that the advantages will go to the people who are not in any sense participants, in the sense of public service industrially or agriculturally. There is a method whereby we could easily assist agriculture without giving subventions from the State, but I cannot mention them at the moment. All the advantages you are giving under this Bill will go ultimately to rent. That is undeniable, from the economic point of view or the practice in the past; and I want to congratulate the Lord Advocate on having had the courage to admit that to a certain extent that is the fact.